New Ideas

With the price of sheep feed continuing to rise, the daily monotony of chores, and the boredom experienced by our poor sheep, we might benefit from a bit of a change around here.  Last weekend, on our way to the community of Corvallis by bike for Mother's Day, Tom and I stopped in at Lone Pine Farms and came across this great solution:

Lone Pine farm visitors feeding the goats.

It is a series of ramps and high walkways (complete with secure railings) whereby the goats can get high above the farm visitors. The visitors pay for alfalfa pellets (dispensed out of a machine), put them into a cup that is run up by a pulley system and dumped into a trough right above them.  The goats, motivated by the food, run up the ramp and gobble up the food.  What a great idea! We could build this, people would come, pay for pellets, feed the sheep and the sheep and visitors would be highly entertained.  We could watch from the comfort of the couch our chores being done and our sheep food financed.  A win win for all don't ya think!

More Lamb Pictures....before they grow up.

They are growing fast.  I can hardly believe it has been 4 weeks since the first of them hit the ground.  Spring is such a busy, busy time here.  My jogging program has been replaced with sheep shearing (the touch up type to clean off the messy stuff from their spring shedding), yard work and lifting bee boxes.  Plenty around here to build up the muscles.  Hey, who needs a gym when you have a farm?  Back to the point about the lambs growing;  yes they are.  So I thought I'd better get a few more pictures posted while they are still cute and small. 

 Here is me doing a little socializing.  That is Ninkasi who still feels like a lamb in spite of nursing two young athletes.  Those are her kids in front of her doing balance beam on the tank.

This is Hattie, she is one of the little athletes out of Ninkasi.  Small but she packs a punch.

This is Pilot.  Doesn't he have a " to die for " fleece?  Too bad you can't touch it through the picture.

This is our wild animal boy, directly from Africa.  His name is Reese, as in Reese's peanut butter cup.

Reese's sister, Clio,  has a yummy looking fleece as well, but she won't let me get my hands on her, yet.

And finally, Miss Bloom with mom Nell in background.  You can see why I do the touch up shearing.

Lambing 2013 is Finished!

And now for some well deserved rest.....well not quite.

Ninkasi and lambs, they took it all out of her, poor girl



 this is Reese, like in Reese's peanut butter cup

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Hattie, she is a bouncer!







 

My yin and yang boys out of Strudel and Jasper

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As you can see there will be no rest, but at least lots of entertainment.

Bookend Boys

Tsunami gets her boys out in the pasture for the first time. 

Jack and Moby with mom, Tsunami.  Don't ask me which one is which.

Sushi and babes enjoy today's sun

Brother and Sis relax in the warmth.

Meet "Nori"

Sushi and her little ones.

The boy's face markings.

How about that tail!  It was pinned on after he was born.

First for Spring

Sushi is the champ of the day.  2 babes, a boy and a girl, late afternoon between lunch and dinner.  Classic birthing right out of the book.  Now if she would just hold still and let them nurse.  It must be overwhelming to suddenly have two munchkins coming at you making little sucking sounds. 

Hope the rest of the sheep can follow in suit.

These are Gotland lambs, the first of 2 to deliver.

OH MY...

Has it really been that long since I posted?  You are probably wondering what the hell those people on McTavish Farm are up to.   Well I wish I knew.  Time just seems to fly.

To very quickly get you up to speed we are expecting lambs this coming week.  It is that time again.  We actually bred a few more this year than last so we expect to lose a bit of sleep, hopefully not too much, but will be rewarded with stellar lambs.  At least that is the plan.  We have 7 expecting mothers.  Here are a few pictures of them just taken today.

 This is Shebaa, due date the 19th, I'm guessing she will twin.

Here are Rhapsodie on the left, Strudel on the right.  Strudel has a habit of surprising us with triplets so she may do that again (this time I refuse to be surprised!).  Rhapsodie I would guess is holding twins.  These two also due in the 19th.

Miss Nell is the biggest of the bunch.  She is has the same due date as those above but I can't imagine she won't come early.  And I think triplets are in order.

This is our first timer Tsunami, the Gotland girl.  Her due date is this coming weekend but I imagine she will hold until next weekend.  Twins?

One of these years I think we should try to make some extra money by developing some betting game.  People could bet on things like actual due dates, how many lambs, ram or ewe,  things like that.  Might be able to rake in a fortune, don't you think?  I promise to keep you posted.